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DFC New Zealand Limited

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

DFC New Zealand Limited was a state-owned enterprise that existed from 1964 to 1991, to provide venture capital and financial advice to industry.

History

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The Development Finance Corporation was established in 1964 as a joint venture between the New Zealand Government, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, and the major trading banks of the time.[1] In 1973, the Kirk Labour government assumed full control.[1]

DFC operated two venture capital funds: the Applied Technology Programme and the Small Business Venture Capital Fund, which were both later merged into a single DFC Ventures fund.[2]

Under the State Owned Enterprises Act 1986, it was corporatised as DFC New Zealand Limited.[3][1] In 1988 it was sold to the National Provident Fund and Salomon Brothers.[2]

DFC New Zealand Limited was placed into statutory management in 1989 and liquidated in 1991, after ill-fated investments in property speculation saddled it with a mountain of bad debts.[4][1][2]

A successor of sorts, the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund, was established in 2001. Another, the Provincial Growth Fund, followed in 2017.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d DFC NZ (a cautionary tale of one company's financial failure - Christie Smith, Reserve Bank of New Zealand
  2. ^ a b c Mike Booker (30 January 2009). "The state of venture capital in New Zealand". Idealog. Archived from the original on 7 February 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  3. ^ "Development Finance Corporation of New Zealand Act 1986". Parliamentary Counsel Office - New Zealand Legislation.
  4. ^ Chris Hunt (17 June 2009). "Banking crises in New Zealand – an historical overview" (PDF). Reserve Bank of New Zealand. p. 29.
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